


at the same time

by lostinspxce



Series: Discord: Bellamione Coven Valentine’s Event [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Discord: Bellamione Coven Valentine's Event, F/F, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29358474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostinspxce/pseuds/lostinspxce
Summary: Hermione and Andromeda both get stood up and end up sitting with each other instead.Prompt 3: My date walked out so this meal has already been paid for, mind joining me?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Andromeda Black Tonks
Series: Discord: Bellamione Coven Valentine’s Event [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156640
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49





	at the same time

Hermione tapped her nails impatiently on the table as her eyes flicked to the entrance for the millionth time that evening. Unsurprisingly, there was still no sign of her date, who was now an hour late. In other words, he was so late that every waiter who passed her table shot her a half-smile with pity practically radiating from them. It was infuriating. 

She didn’t know why she was still sitting there. Perhaps it was out of hope that the guy would show up and save her from the embarrassment of having to leave alone - a situation she now deemed to be the inevitable end to her night. Or, perhaps she wished he would show up purely so she could throw her drink in his face and storm out. At least then she would leave with the upper hand. 

Neither outcomes seemed quite likely. She would probably get kicked out soon, anyway. She could see her waitress eyeing her up from the other side of the room, just waiting for the right moment to strike. Hermione couldn’t blame her; she hadn’t ordered anything yet and the restaurant was fairly busy. She was just wasting a table sitting there, waiting on someone she didn’t even want to see anymore.

Even the other customers were stealing glances at her when they thought she wasn’t looking. She had become the centre of attention for the evening. In their eyes, she was just the poor woman who got stood up. Great. 

Finally, the waitress decided it was time to make her move. She made her way towards the table with a sickly sweet smile on her face, making Hermione struggle against the urge to roll her eyes. It almost made her want to stay a little longer, just to spite her. 

“I’m really sorry, but my manager says that if you aren’t going to order anything, you’ll have to give up the table.”

“Okay,” Hermione sighed, “I suppose I’ll have a glass of red wine and a menu, please.”

The waitress’ smile dropped a fraction but she recovered quickly and nodded. Hermione watched her leave, curious about why she was so eager to get her out and swore she saw the woman slip a five-pound note into another waiter’s hand as she passed him. Hermione raised an eyebrow, realising that they were placing bets on her. 

A few minutes later, the waitress returned with a menu and a glass of wine. Neither of them said anything; Hermione instantly directed her attention to the menu in an attempt to avoid any small talk. When she heard footsteps retreating from the table, she sat back and let her eyes drift around the room. 

It didn’t surprise Hermione terribly to see that everyone else was sitting in pairs. It was Valentine’s Day, after all, and she was in the most romantic restaurant in London - a location she now cursed herself for choosing. There couldn’t have been a worse place to be the only person dining alone than in a room filled with happy couples. 

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another woman sitting alone on the other side of the room. She could see a few heads turning every now and then, presumably throwing her the same sympathetic looks that Hermione had been on the receiving end of for the past hour. 

She knew she was staring, but she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away. Just as she was about to give herself a mental lecture about being creepy, the woman looked her way and their eyes met for a brief moment.

The woman glanced at the empty chair across from Hermione raised her glass of wine in a silent toast, smiling at her with a knowing look in her eye. A look that said she knew how Hermione felt because she was in the same boat. Hermione chuckled quietly and lifted her own glass, giving a short nod of her head in solidarity. 

The waitress cleared her throat, startling Hermione out of her staring contest. “Are you ready to order?” 

“Oh.” She had forgotten about that part. She glanced at the menu that she had discarded a few minutes beforehand and smiled apologetically. 

“I’ll give you another minute,” the waitress sighed. 

“Thank you.”

Hermione took up the menu again and actually began to read it this time until someone stopped next to her. She looked up, ready to send the waitress away again, but froze when she saw the woman who had been sitting across the room. 

“O-Oh, hi,” Hermione stuttered, looking up into warm, brown eyes. 

Now that she was seeing her up close, Hermione was transfixed.  
Only when her gaze flickered to the woman’s lips did Hermione realise that they were moving. Snapping out of her trance, she barely managed to catch the last of what she was saying.

“-Would you?”

“W-Would I… Wait, what?”

The woman smirked and Hermione blushed furiously, knowing she had been caught ogling her. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to mind Hermione’s wandering gaze.

“My date hasn’t shown up and my meal is already paid for. Would you like to join me?” 

Hermione stammered uselessly, seeming to forget every word in her normally vast vocabulary. The woman chuckled, resting her hand over Hermione’s in an attempt to relax her. However, it had very much the opposite effect, sending Hermione’s heart rate through the roof.

“I won’t be offended if you say no, love, it’s up to you. I just thought that since you seem to be in a similar predicament, it might be nice. There’s no point in both of us spending the night with no company, right?” 

“Right,” Hermione nodded, finally collecting herself enough to form a coherent thought, “Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you.”

“Perfect.” The woman smiled brightly, holding out a hand to help Hermione up. 

Hermione gathered her things quickly and the woman led her to her table, where she pulled out the chair for Hermione before taking her own seat across from her. 

“I’m Hermione, by the way,” Hermione said, suddenly feeling shy. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Hermione. I’m Andromeda, Andy for short.” 

They shook hands, while Hermione tried not to let the way Andromeda said her name or the feeling of her hand in hers affect her too much. She could sense eyes on her from every direction, the rest of the customers clearly surprised by the twist of events, but she couldn’t find it in her to care much now. All she could focus on was the woman in front of her, and the way she tilted her head ever so slightly as she smiled softly at Hermione. 

“So, your date didn’t show, hm?” 

Hermione nodded, grateful for something to talk about. “That’s the first and last time I try online dating,” she joked, “I’m not sure I was even looking forward to it in the first place. I only tried it because my best friend insisted.”

“I hear you,” Andromeda hummed in agreement, “I tried it once and the guy turned out to be a total creep. Never again.” 

“What about your date tonight?” 

Andromeda waved a hand dismissively. “Not a huge loss, if I’m being honest. My sister set me up with a colleague of hers and paid for us in advance. I only came for the free meal - the woman I was supposed to meet is a drag anyway.” 

“It sounds like we both dodged a bullet then,” Hermione chuckled.

“That we did.” 

Andromeda raised her drink again. “To dodging bullets,” she toasted, her eyes dancing with amusement. 

“To dodging bullets,” Hermione repeated, clinking her glass against Andromeda’s, “Cheers.”

A waiter came around to take their orders, looking visibly relieved to find that they had both finally made a decision, and he returned sometime afterwards with their food and a refill on their wine. 

The conversation flowed easily as they ate, Hermione’s uncharacteristic shyness having dissolved entirely. They talked about everything; work, interests, friends, family. Whatever came to mind. Without realising it, they spent hours like that. Even as the room slowly emptied, they stayed, completely oblivious to their surroundings. 

Andromeda listened intently, with her chin resting on her hand, to everything Hermione had to say, even when she got a little overly excited and began to ramble about her favourite books. Hermione couldn’t help the way her heart leapt, after she caught herself and apologised, when Andromeda not only told her it was alright but asked her to go on. Nobody was ever that interested in what she had to say about her books.

Hermione did the same in return, of course, and asked about a million questions about her job. It was another thing that usually irritated people after a while; Hermione’s eagerness to learn about any new topic, but with every question she asked Andromeda’s face lit up and she explained in depth whatever Hermione wanted to know. 

They only realised how much time had passed when their waiter came by to tell them that they couldn’t stay any longer. They looked around in surprise, seeing that they were the only ones left in the restaurant and hastily apologised for taking up so much time. He only shook his head and smiled in response, telling them that he was glad they both enjoyed their evening after all. 

They stumbled out onto the lamplit street in a fit of giggles, clinging to each other for balance. Hermione looked at Andromeda and in her drunken haze, she couldn’t help but think that she had never seen a more beautiful sight. Her eyes dropped lower, to Andromeda’s wine-stained lips, and she couldn’t think of anything else other than how they might feel against her own. She leaned in slowly, giving Andromeda time to pull away if she wanted. When that didn’t happen, she let her eyes flutter closed - which turned out to be a huge mistake. As soon as she did, a wave of dizziness washed over her and she fell forward. 

Andromeda caught her with a soft giggle. “Come on, let’s get you home, love.”

Hermione tried not to feel too disappointed at her words, but she really didn’t want to part ways with the older woman. She shivered against the cold and Andromeda put her own jacket over her shoulders, then wrapped her arm around her waist and pulled her closer. 

“Where do you live? I’ll walk you.”

“Er-” Hermione glanced up and down the street, trying to remember which way she had come. “That way.”

It was a short walk to Hermione’s apartment, something she wasn’t sure whether to be grateful for or not. On one hand, it meant that they wouldn’t be out in the cold for too long, but on the other, it meant she had less time with Andromeda. 

They stopped outside Hermione’s building and looked at each other, neither one of them quite wanting to step away. Eventually, Andromeda turned fully towards Hermione, keeping her arm around her waist. She brought her other hand up to cup Hermione’s jaw, and leaned in, glancing into her eyes for permission. 

Hermione brought her own hands to the back of Andromeda’s neck and met her halfway, crashing their lips together a little rougher than intended, feeling her teeth crash against Andromeda’s. Neither of them cared, though, as they relaxed into each other with small, happy sighs. 

Andromeda grazed her tongue along Hermione’s lips, which parted to allow her entrance. Hermione groaned softly and lightly scratched the back of Andromeda’s neck before pulling back for air, both of them panting heavily. 

“I had a really great time tonight,” Andromeda whispered, stroking Hermione’s cheek with her thumb. 

“So did I,” Hermione agreed, “I-I’d like to do it again sometime. That is if you-”

“I do,” Andromeda said quickly, “I’d love to.”

Hermione grinned and kissed her again chastely. “I should let you get home,” she reluctantly murmured against her lips. 

Andromeda sighed and stepped back with a nod. Hermione shrugged off her jacket and handed it back. 

“Er- Goodnight,” she said awkwardly.

“Goodnight, love.”

Hermione hesitated, feeling like she was forgetting something. Unable to think of what it could be, she turned on her heel and took out her keys, squinting down at them as she tried to find the right one.

“Wait, Hermione?” 

“Hm?” Hermione turned back to Andromeda with a questioning look.

“Can I get your number?” 

Realisation dawned on Hermione’s face and she smacked her forehead.

“ _That’s_ what I was forgetting,” she chuckled, pulling out her phone, “Yes, of course, here.”

They exchanged numbers and said their goodbyes once more before Hermione let herself into the building. Once she was inside, Andromeda turned away and began her own walk home, smiling giddily to herself the entire time.


End file.
